Sea Kings bust it open, 9-3

Bryce Alderton

A sleeping giant awoke after three quarters Tuesday afternoon in

the form of the Corona del Mar High boys water polo team.

Leading, 5-3, at the end of the third period, the Sea Kings,

coming off three straight CIF Southern Section Division II titles and

ranked No. 3 in CIF Division I, unleashed their sharp teeth and sank

the Capistrano Valley ship, scoring three goals in a minute and four

altogether to blister host Capistrano Valley, 9-3, in a nonleague

matchup at Saddleback College.

CdM outshot Capo Valley, 8-4, in the fourth period, 24-16 for the

game, and drew three Cougar ejections to only two for CdM in the

final period as the Sea Kings improved to 1-0.

“I think we played pretty solid defense,� said first-year CdM

coach Tim Salvino.

“The ball skills need to come back, though and that’s always the

last thing to come around after you haven’t played in awhile. We had

some dropped passes and missed shots but those will improve.�

Sea King senior Jason DiRocco tallied four goals on five shots

while adding one assist, three steals and one block.

“We played a great fourth quarter, but we’re not where we need to

be as a team yet,� DiRocco said. “We’re trying to get our skills

together and playing as a team more to plan our offense to make the

right pass and get (the ball) to the guy who’s most open.�

Capo Valley, ranked No. 8 in CIF Division I, got on the board

first, but Corona del Mar quickly rebounded, getting goals from

senior John Mann and DiRocco with 5:11 and 4:16 left in the period,

respectively.

The Sea Kings and Cougars each scored a goal in the second quarter

to make it 3-2 at halftime and CdM outscored Capo, 2-1, in the third

to make it 5-3 before busting loose for four goals in the fourth

period.

CdM found the open man several times Tuesday, tallying seven

assists to Capo’s none. Senior two-meter standout Artie Dorr led the

team with three assists while netting two goals to go along with two

steals.

Dorr, along with Mann, had the most shots on goal for the Sea

Kings with seven and eight, respectively.

Mann scored twice and assisted on Dorr’s fourth-period goal that

put CdM up, 7-3, with just more than five minutes remaining.

John Money rounded out the scoring for CdM with a goal with 1:13

left in the fourth period.

Money also had a steal. Ryan Moore added an assist and steal for

the Sea Kings.

Dorr, Griffin Gentry and Kevin Amendt each stole the ball twice,

setting up scoring opportunities for the Sea Kings.

In the fourth quarter, Amendt displayed swarming defense, rising

out of the water with arms raised to tip a Cougar pass to collect one

of his two steals.

Salvino appreciated Amendt’s hard work.

“He’s our go-to-guy on defense, he never plays a poor defensive

game,� Salvino said.

Salvino doubts Capo Valley changed its strategy in the fourth

quarter.

“I think (Capo Valley Coach Steve Yancey) told them to go for it

rather than don’t go for it,� Salvino said. “We didn’t focus on any

of their players, we just ran our six-on-five.�

CdM goalie Beau Stockstill made eight saves while his counterpart

for the Cougars, J.J. Nahoul, made 10 saves.

NONLEAGUE

CdM 9, Capistrano Valley 3

Score by quarters

Corona del Mar 2 1 2

4 -- 9

Capistrano Valley 1 1

1 0 -- 3

CdM -- DiRocco 4, Dorr 2, Mann 2, Money 1. Saves --

Stockstill 8.

Capo Valley -- Young 1, Stahl 1, Cary 1. Saves --

Nahoul 10.